Tulane vs. Fordham Forum

[zxbn579]

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[chuckbass]

Exactly. Seriously good choice OP.

[zxbn579]

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[The Dark Shepard]

I just needed one last little kick in the right direction. I'll re-read all of the above if I get some dumb thoughts in the next few days.

I'll add one last thing: the fact that you're turning 25 soon is a non-issue. I'm graduating this spring at 30, gainfully employed in a JD-required Gov't job, with minimal debt. Obviously my being "older" didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Take the time to get yourself in a position to negotiate $$$. Law schools were getting desperate when I went through the application cycle in 2012. From what I hear, they're even more desperate now.

Thank you for taking the time to write - that's really encouraging.
So you'd agree with everyone that going to Fordham with only 10k scholarship a year is not a good idea?
I'm just afraid that if I skip this cycle I'll be discouraged and won't pull myself together quick enough to retake in June. But that wouldn't be a huge loss for the world since we're not short of attorneys.

Don't worry about retaking in June. September is fine as well

[sd5289]

So you'd agree with everyone that going to Fordham with only 10k scholarship a year is not a good idea?
I'm just afraid that if I skip this cycle I'll be discouraged and won't pull myself together quick enough to retake in June. But that wouldn't be a huge loss for the world since we're not short of attorneys.

Definitely. I turned that shit down myself.

Skipping this cycle is an active decision to retake and put yourself in a better position for more $$$. A little discouragement now vs a lot of debt later. Not a tough decision.

Not to mention it gives you an extra year to actually live your life before you (largely) lose it to the first two years of law school. Work, save, travel, eat out, whatever. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[LafayetteJeff]

OP, in today's applicant market and with your stats, Tulane was the only route that presents a reasonably acceptable cost. Fordham seems a really absurd cost.

Good call on the retake-- really nothing to lose, a quite a bit to gain, especially in this market.

[zxbn579]

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[BigZuck]

Not worth it

[chuckbass]

Ultimately of course it's your life and the grim reality is that no one here is really going to lose sleep over you making a poor choice but people did give an earnest shot and took time out of their day to help you make the best life decision possible. Still I think I speak for TLS when I say that we can't really sit here and go back and forth with you on it, we did our best and now you've gotta live the life that you want.

[sd5289]

It makes my COA 115k for the two-year JD, starting this May, including tuition and living costs for the two school years, this summer, and summer'16. Still not worth it?

No.

Anything less than a full ride at any of these schools in this market is not worth it. Period.

[donewithannarbor]

Still not worth it, not in today's market for law school applicants.

[zombie mcavoy]

Ultimately of course it's your life and the grim reality is that no one here is really going to lose sleep over you making a poor choice but people did give an earnest shot and took time out of their day to help you make the best life decision possible. Still I think I speak for TLS when I say that we can't really sit here and go back and forth with you on it, we did our best and now you've gotta live the life that you want.

[Monster1776]

Wow, have to say this whole thread has been pretty interesting/intense. Don't want to hijack the thread from parkcity but it sounds like she got the answer she needed and it's raising some questions of my own. Is Tulane truly a poor choice for a law school considering it's price tag? I was currently pretty comfortable with my cheap regional tier 2 school but found myself in an odd situation where I got accepted and offered a $25k scholarship in the span of a week from Tulane recently. Needless to say I'm a bit intrigued by the whole situation, especially with Tulane's Sports Law and Maritime programs. Some background info: I have a job lined up with A Family Law Firm after I graduate as a worst case scenario and tuition isn't an issue, although obviously I don't want to be throwing money at an institution for the sake of throwing money at it, ie: Pepperdine (although that view is sure damn nice).

[timbs4339]

Wow, have to say this whole thread has been pretty interesting/intense. Don't want to hijack the thread from parkcity but it sounds like she got the answer she needed and it's raising some questions of my own. Is Tulane truly a poor choice for a law school considering it's price tag? I was currently pretty comfortable with my cheap regional tier 2 school but found myself in an odd situation where I got accepted and offered a $25k scholarship in the span of a week from Tulane recently. Needless to say I'm a bit intrigued by the whole situation, especially with Tulane's Sports Law and Maritime programs. Some background info: I have a job lined up with a family law firm after I graduate as a worst case scenario and tuition isn't an issue, although obviously I don't want to be throwing money at an institution for the sake of throwing money at it, ie: Pepperdine (although that view is sure damn nice).

The answer to this is the answer to most questions about law school. It's a bad choice without a substantial discount since it's roughly $264,000 at sticker. Even if you get substantial discount that brings COA down to around 75K, it's not worth it if you are dead set on biglaw or another prestigious job. And it's especially not worth it if you want to be a freaking "sports lawyer" whatever the hell that means.

If you want to spend 80K on Tulane and then go make 55K at a small law firm in LA, Tulane is certainly not a bad deal. The problem is that all the people who run the school can't keep collecting fat stacks if the only people willing to go there aren't willing to shell out more than 50K on tuition.